The present disclosure pertains to a merchandising system. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a base and divider assembly employed in a forward feeding display merchandising system for storing and displaying merchandise of a variety of shapes and sizes and automatically delivering the merchandise to the front of a shelf. The merchandising system can be removably attached to an associated shelf and is configured to organize merchandise on the shelf.
Shelving is used extensively for stocking and storing products or merchandise in a variety of stores, such as grocery stores, drug stores and the like. Most consumer product stores contain fixed shelving which is arranged back to back between isle ways. The nature of the fixed shelves makes rotation of the products on the shelf a difficult proposition. It is desirable to move older stock to the front of the shelf and position newer stock behind the older stock so that the older stock is sold first. For a number of important merchandising considerations, it is desirable that the merchandise be displayed at the front of the shelf so that a customer is induced to purchase the forward-most such article of merchandise. For example, if the products are perishable, are subject to becoming stale (cigarettes, fruit juices, dairy products and the like fall into this category), it is important that the articles be removed following a first in, first out system to maintain freshness. Moreover, if the merchandise is not displayed at the front of the shelf, it may not catch the shopper's eye and that could cost the merchant sales.
Forward feed devices are employed to automatically move an item forward on a shelf as the one before it in a column of merchandise is removed from the shelf. These devices generally fall into three categories. The first category pertains to inclined tracks which rely on gravity to feed, slide or roll products forward on the shelf. Gravity feeding may be unpredictable in that various materials or packages slide more easily than others because of different weights and frictional interfaces between the products and the track. The second category employs conveyor belts which still use gravity to effect a forward movement. These devices are typically cumbersome, expensive and complicated due to the need to properly tension the track and the conveyor belts. The third category uses spring biased pusher paddles to feed the product forward. Such paddle-based forward feed devices have been found useful for a variety of merchandise.
In the third category, separate dividers and tracks containing pusher paddles are usually employed, along with end dividers to separate the merchandise into columns. It is advantageous to provide an integrated track and divider system, because an integrated track and divider makes assembly of a merchandising system on a shelf easier for store personnel as there are less components to handle. However, an integrated track and divider is disadvantageous from the perspective that the divider cannot be removed from the track, should that become necessary. In some circumstances, a drop in track is desired for wider merchandise so that two pusher paddles urge the merchandise forward. Currently, a separate track has to be produced for this purpose. It would be advantageous to provide a two-part track and divider assembly in which the divider can be selectively separated from the track or connected thereto. In other words, it would be desirable to provide a connection structure to selectively engage the divider with the track or disengage the divider from the track, as may be required in a particular merchandising environment. Further, if there are rails on which the pusher rides, which rails extend above the surface of the track, the base second side of the integrated base and divider assembly also needs to include such rails or be thicker, so that the product packages do not become canted as they are urged forward by the pusher.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved base and divider assembly in which the divider can be selectively separated from the base or reconnected to the base as may be required for a particular merchandising environment.